


Picture Perfect

by ThordisPotter



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Anxiety, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Newt is a Dork, Newt is a photographer, Newt is alive, References to Depression, Thomas is into Astronomy, Thomas struggles with his mental health, library tower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThordisPotter/pseuds/ThordisPotter
Summary: Newt is at University in the English countryside, where Thomas lives.  They meet by accident, or maybe by fate... but whatever strange reason for them crossing paths, it's sure to be a flurry of excitement, romance, and emotions that neither boy quite understands.
Relationships: Minho & Newt & Thomas (Maze Runner), Minho & Newt (Maze Runner), Minho & Thomas (Maze Runner), Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

_Wow._

That’s all Newt’s mind can come up with when he sees the house before him.Well… _house_ is a bit of an understatement.A more appropriate term would probably be castle because it was too massive and ancient-looking to be a house.

Newt is wandering around the British countryside one early fall afternoon, exploring the hills and taking pictures for his photography class when he finds this architectural masterpiece.Three stories high and covered in plants and vines, the stones that make up the building look ancient.

But the best part of the mansion, the part that catches Newt’s eye, is the tower.Attached to the right side of the house, draped in tree branches and flowers, is a tower about 5 stories high.Small windows rise around it in a spiral from the ground up and the sun hits them just right to create beautiful refractions of light.

Needless to say, Newt is awestruck.This is the perfect scene for his photography portfolio. But someone obviously lives at the house, and it would be creepy for him to just start taking pictures.So he steels his nerves and walks up the long path to the front door, raises his arm, and knocks solidly three times with the brass door knocker.The clack of brass against thick, mahogany wood rings through the air, and he steps back a bit onto the porch.

The door swings open to reveal a young man standing there.A quite good-looking young man, if Newt does say so himself.The tall, dark-haired boy leans against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest in a way that’s not threatening but casual.He stares at Newt, eyebrows raised before speaking.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, sorry, I just wasn’t quite expecting to knock on the door of such an ancient house only to be answered by a boy so good-looking as yourself,” Newt says flirtatiously.

Thomas’ eyebrows shoot upwards and he spins around, walking back inside.“Grams! There’s someone at the door!”

And then Newt is alone. _Well, that’s the strangest reaction anyone’s ever had to me flirting with them,_ he thinks.

He stands on the porch for about a minute, just watching the slightly ajar door.Suddenly, it swings open wide to reveal an old, petite lady with long white hair in her bathrobe.

“Hello dear, what can I do for you?”

“Er- well- I was just wandering around, and I noticed your lovely house, and well, you see-” Newt stuttered.He had no problem flirting with boys, but apparently talking to kindly old ladies was just too much for his mind to handle.Newt sighed.“I’m a photography major at the Uni in town.I was wandering around, trying to find inspiration for my portfolio when I came across your lovely home, and I was wondering if it would be alright if I took a few shots of the tower?”

The old lady smiled.“Well of course, dear!I’m flattered that you had the manners to ask permission before doing so.Take your time, photograph whatever you need.”

Newt let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.“Thank you so much, Mrs….?”

“Call me Rosaline, child.”

“Well, uh, Rosaline, thank you so much!”

So Newt begins to photograph the tower in the good afternoon light, wandering around and around and getting shots from all angles.His mind wanders to the boy who opened the door when he suddenly feels a pair of eyes on his back.

“I love the flower beds you have at the base here!I think they’re a lovely touch-”Newt stops talking when he turns around not to find Rosaline, but the boy who answered the door.The very boy his mind had just wandered to…

“Oh!Well, hello good-looking,” Newt says, the flirting coming back to him easily.

The boy blushes, but smirks.“I do have a name, you know.”

Newts mind screeches to a halt.How didn’t he notice before?“Pardon, but you’re… American?”

Thomas’ eyebrows raise and his smirk widens.“How incredibly observant of you,” he says in his best mock, posh, British accent.

“Well, what’s a good-looking American boy like you doing out here in the English countryside?”Newt says, trying to tame his pounding heart.

“I live with my grandparents out here.That’s my grams that you met, Rosaline.”

“Oh.”For some reason, his voice made Newt’s mind melt into mush.“It’s a pretty incredible house you live in.”

“Yeah, I like it here.Very different from New York.”

“I bet, mate.So, can I get that name you were offering earlier, or…” Newt asks, a playful smile dancing across his lips. 

“I’m Thomas.”

“Nice to meet you, Thomas, American boy.”

Thomas paused as if waiting for Newt to continue.When he didn’t he spoke, “And your name is…?”

“I guess you’ll have to talk to me more and find out,” Newt whispered in his ear, having crossed the lawn towards Thomas.Then he walked away, back to the front door of the grand house.He was going to knock again, but Thomas walked past him and simply opened up the door and held it open. 

“Oh, thank you,” he said, gingerly stepping inside and standing just in the threshold. “Uhm, can you get your grandmother for me?”

Thomas nodded, wandering off with one last glance over his shoulder.He returned with his grandmother.

“Well hello!I hope your pictures turned out nicely!”

“They did, madam.I was just going to let you know that I’m done now, so you can… I don’t know, wander around outside or something?I don’t actually know why I’m telling you this, sorry.”Newt mentally punches himself.He’s making a fool of himself in front of Thomas. 

“Thank you, dear, I do like taking walks…”. She paused, before looking at him knowingly.“Would you like to see what’s inside the tower?”

Newt has never been more excited in his life.He nods eagerly and follows Rosaline out of the room, with Thomas on their tail. 

They round the corner, and Newt stops short.A set of mahogany double doors are opened wide, leading into the most amazing library Newt has ever seen.Wide stairs climb the walls of the tower in a spiral, following the windows that Newt had seen from the outside.Bookshelves line the first floor of walls, and there are comfortable chairs at every massive landing all the way up the tower with tables near them for reading.

“It's… incredible…” Newt sighs with wonder. 

“Yes, and it’s a shame because there’s so much space, and the only person that uses it is Thomas…”

Newt didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so he settles for nodding.“Well, it’s wonderful here but I really should be going home now, thank you so much for letting me get shots of your house!"

“Anytime darling, if you need anything just knock on the door.Someone is always home,” Rosaline smiled.

Newt turned and made his way out the front door of the old, beautiful building, hoping to come up with an excuse to come back.If not for the library, at least to see Thomas then.

Unknown to Newt, Thomas’ eyes followed the boy with the mop of blonde hair as he left their house.


	2. Chapter 2

Thomas is definitely bisexual.

He’s never considered liking boys before, but as soon as Newt opened those pretty little British lips, he knew he was done for.His eyes, the way his mouth curved up at the corners when he smirked, his confident stride…

And that ass.

MMMMM.

So, three days after he met Newt, Thomas is laying on his bed on Saturday morning, staring at his ceiling, contemplating life after finally accepting his raging bisexuality, when he hears someone knock on the front door.

_Knock knock knock._

He furrows his brows.They’ve had more visitors at the house this week than they usually get in a month, which is odd.

So he gets out of bed and shoves on his slippers before wandering out of his room, down the long hall, and turns the corner to walk down the staircase.But his grams already got the door.And suddenly he sees it.

That mop of golden-blond hair.

His eyes widen, and he spins on a dime and speed-walks back to his bedroom, heart pounding at a mile-a-minute.

_What’s he doing at my house again?_

Thomas is standing in his bedroom, trying to think of a reason, _literally any reason_ , to go downstairs and cross paths with Newt again, when his grams walks in.

“Thomas, darling!That boy from a few days ago, Newt?He stopped by, asking if he could browse our library for a few books because the library at his University is all checked out of the ones he needs.I let him in and showed him to the library, but Grandad and I are going into town.Would you mind taking him some tea?”

Thomas’ eyes widen, again.“Newt is… in our library?”

“Yes dear.”

“ _Our_ library?”

“…Yes, darling.”

“And you want me to take him tea?!”

Rosaline frowns.“I don’t quite understand what the issue is, honey…”

“No, there’s uh- there’s no issue!I’ll just… go… start on that tea… have fun in town!”And with that, Thomas shuffles past his grams and down to the kitchen to make tea for the boy that is his Bisexual Awakening.

✴︎✴︎✴︎

_Deep breath, Thomas.Just. Walk. Inside._

Thomas has been standing outside the door to the library for 3 and a half minutes, holding a platter with a pot of tea, two teacups, and a plate of his grandad’s scones, trying to convince himself to walk into the library and bring the refreshments to Newt.He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous, Newt’s just a boy.A boy with a pretty face, and a nice butt-

He really needs to snap out of it.

_Okay, three, two, one…_

He takes a deep breath and forces his long, muscular legs to carry him into the tower.He glances around, quickly finding Newt’s smallish figure sitting at a chair on the first landing up the spiral stairs.He walks up them and stops behind Newt, who’s facing the opposite direction.

“Grams asked me-”

“Bloody hell, Thomas!” Newt exclaims, standing up sharply.“Do you sneak up on all your guests like this?”He takes a deep breath and dramatically claps his hand over his heart, collapsing back into the chair. 

“Sorry, I thought you heard me open the door… and walk up the stairs… I’m not _that_ quiet,” Thomas says, smiling apologetically.

“You could’ve given me a heart attack.You know, if you want me to fall into your arms all you have to do is ask.”

Thomas can feel the blush creeping up his neck, and wills himself to play it cool.“Aw, but where’s the fun in that?”

Newt cocks his eyebrow, not expecting his flirting to be returned.

“Anyway, now that I’m sufficiently frightened, is that tea for me?”

“No, sorry, I was bringing it up for me and the ghost that lives on the next landing.”Thomas smiles before walking to the chair opposite Newt and plopping down.

“Thanks, Thomas, you’re great.”

Thomas’ heart rate skyrockets, as if it wasn’t already beating hard enough. 

“So, what are you studying?”Thomas asks, pouring them both a cuppa.

Newt accepts the cup, placing it on the saucer so it can cool a bit before he sips it.“Well, I’m minoring in English, thinking that maybe if photography doesn’t work out I can become an English professor somewhere.I mean, books and literature, there’s so much meaning and endless combinations of words and-”

He stops, looking down bashfully.“But you don’t need to know about that.Anyway, in English, we’re reading Shakespeare, and somehow _every_ single copy of his work is checked out.All 22 of them. So I figured, why not see if Rosaline had a copy?And lo and behold, she does.”

Thomas has been smiling the entire time that Newt has been talking, and once he finishes it takes him a moment to remember he needs to respond, not just marvel are how smart Newt is.

“Well, I know Shakespeare like the back of my hand, so if you need any help, I’m right here!”

 _Really, Thomas?Offering to help him with his homework?You fucking dumbass._ Thomas shakes his head at himself.Luckily, before he has to come up with something else to say, Newt speaks up again.

“Mmmm, Thomas!These scones are incredible, did you make them?”Newt says, crumbs in the corners of his mouth and bliss in his eyes.

Thomas chuckles.“No, I didn’t. My grandad did, he’s the baker in this house.Grams can’t bake to save her life, but she cooks amazingly.I was blessed with neither talent.”

Newt licks his lips, smiling.Thomas’ eyes follow his tongue around the edges of his mouth as it slips back inside.Before he can realize what he’s doing, he’s reaching out.

“Here, you missed a spot…” Thomas’ thumb brushes over the corner of Newt’s mouth, wiping away the last few crumbs and lingering for half a second longer than he probably should’ve.He pulls his hand back and doesn’t even realize that Newt’s eyes had glazed over and his lips parted slightly, face flushed.

Then it hits Thomas what he’s just done, and his face goes bright red.“Jesus, sorry, you had just- there was- I don’t know why I-”

Newt’s usual smirk returns as he watches Thomas blither on and stand up, shuffling awkwardly away.

“I have, uh- I have work to do so I’m just gonna- gonna go…”

With that Thomas, hurries down the stairs and out of the library, not believing what he just did.

_God, he must think I’m such an idiot.What the fuck were you thinking, Thomas!_

He shakes his head, his pounding heart not calming down, even after he was back in his bedroom, lying face down on his bed.

But a small part of him was glad he reached out and brushed away those crumbs because now he knew that Newt’s lips felt as soft as they looked.And suddenly, he wondered what it would be like to kiss him.

Thomas groans and buries his face deeper in his bed.He’s sooooo far gone down this rabbit hole of a crush…


End file.
